Wichita eagle., 1887-04-14
AN OPEN LETTER TO MARSH MUIR
DOCK

acteriZed the members OF the Two leglsia-
tive bodies to which l have had the honor
to belong. as remarkable for their general
and hopeless idiocy and unparalleled e1-
travagance. From the fact that the mem
hers of these legislative bodies have SO far
in their humble humility permitted these
statements, so often repeated, to 90 I'M
challenged I do not know but that q
good many people may have concluded
that you are correct in your
statements as TO our extrava-
gance and infallible in your judg-
ment of our Intellectual capacity.
presume myself should have Continued 10
hang nv head in humble silence while you
continued to below from yonr cave OF the
winds in regard to THE big fool leglsia-
ture." and its unparalleled extravaganza,
if YOU had not seen fit to impugn the mo-
tiyes of INV fellow members by asserting
that their votes were secured by the expen
diture of few boquets that their action
had buncomb for its object and that the
most charitable thing you could say of
them was that they was an aSsemblage OF
cranks such as had never before been gath
| cred in legislative halls Being trampled
on in this style is growing a
trifie monotonous, and now arise in my
humble simplicity to suggest that the fig
ures do not bear you out IN these asser-
tons in regard 20 extravaganza, and that
possibly you may be mistaken IN your
| Judgment Of The motives which influenced
our action.
| An examination of the records SLOW
| that from 1869 to 1874 inclusive, you were
managing the destinies Of this state "a the
CAPACITY of a state senator. Judging from
your fxcility as critic, one would sup
pose that the period Of your service was
the golden age of Suufower legislation
and that the generations yet IN
born would refer with pride to
the time when the Kansas 4Eolus, in
the person of Marsh Murdoch, sat in the
senate hall, gently tanning the CALLER
les with his breath when in repose, and
| causing the walls to rock as with cyclone
when in motion Bat strange as 1t may
appear, while THIS legislature of extrava-
CANT cranks have taxed the people at the
rate of three and three-tenths mills on the
dollar, you forced them to pay trib
ute to the state treasury at the rate
of six mills on the dollar. In other words,
where we have compelled the taxpayer to
contribute thirty three cents you forced
him to pay sixty.
You say the taxpayers will sweat for
wears on account of the extravaganza OF
this legislature If SO they must have been
covered with a perfect lather OF prespira-
ton when you were managing the affairs
OF state.
You will observe, sir, that l speak OF
you as composing the legislature OF that
period. l know, of course, that there were
other nominal members OF that body, but
| Judging from your own standard OF your
ability, land know that your innate mod
esty must lead you to rather
| underestimate your intellectual pow
ers) I conclude that as the
stars are invisible when the sun rides in
| the heavens, so the other members of that
| legislative body must have dwindled into
condition of obscurity and consequent ire
sponsibility, as you cavorted down the aisle
| and filled that senate chamber with the eff
| fulgent radiance of your genius, and there
| fore, upon you, and you alone, must be
laid the responsibility of the fact that in
| 1878 the dear people Of Kansas were taxed
almost twice as heavily in proportion to
| their wealth as by the present legislature OF
| "extravagant cranks."
But not content with criticising our ex-
travagance, you have seen fit to impugn
our motives. We were bought with
boquets-our actions were for bumcomb,
and finally you catch up with howl OF
delight and spread broad cast the assertion,
made bv Democratic member OF the
house, THAT forty members Of the legiSla-
ture who voted for the Municipal Suffrage
bill afterwards went to the governor and
asked him to veto the same" In regard to
this assertion, l have the authority OF
Governor Martin, himself, that it is not
true Instead Of forty members OF the
lower house who voted for the bill, asking
the governor to veto the same. there
were not TO exceed dozen members of
both houses, who voted either for or against
the BILL who spoke to Governor Martin in
regard to veto. How many of these ten
or twelve were cOwardly enough to vote
for the bill and then ask the governor to
veto it do not know, but | venture to say
that instead Of forty there were not five.
But you say that our votes were bought
with boquets and that our actions were
simply for buncomb. To these as
sertions | must take humble
though firm exceptions. | know, sir,
that you are responsible to a large de-
gree for almost ell of the temporal bless
ings which Kansas enjoys and that We
bask in your warming and vivifying in
fluence like so many bluebottle flies on
a sunlighted window, hut when you at
tempt TO usurp the functions of the Al
mighty and become searcher Of the
hearts of men. object. l. it not enough
that he has permitted you to hatch out tie
city of Wichita and gather its multiplied
additions under your wings, even as hen
gatherelh her chickens? Must you, in
addition to ail this, invite men to
take a back seat while YOU
proclaim the motives which influence the
actions of men? II seems 10 me, Marsh,
that you ought to give God a chance
In conclusion, sir, l wish to make this
suggestion: When you make charges in
regard TO legislative extravaganza, which
are calculated TO injure not only the repu
tation of the men VINO have BEEN so unfor-
tunate as to be elected to the legislature,
but the entire Republican party of the
state as well. please give US some figures
taken from the records of previous legisla
lures, and let the people see whether the
expenditures by the last legisia-
ture are any greater m proper
ton to the wealth and population
OF the state, than the expenditures
of their predecessors. SO far as your judg
ment of the motives o. legislators is con.
cerned. that is matte- of comparative in
difference Notwiin> tsnding the fact that
a considerable number of individuals in
different parts of the state have
fed you on large chunks of taifv
which you have swallowed with mar
velous avidiiy, still there Is very
respectable number Of people who can not
be msds 10 believe that your eyes are gift
ed with more than ordinary vision, or
that infinite wisdom fingers beneath your